Feeder



June 16, 19 36.

L v. PlClfELL FEEDER Filed Sept. 24, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet l K Pic/63225.

June 16, 1936. Ly. PICKELL FEEDER- Filed Sept. 24', 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 upper ends of the legs FEEDER Luther Vance Pickell, Ha n:

Application September 24, 1934, Serial No. 745,339

scams. (oi. car-) This invention is a device for feeding dry powder or pulverized material, such as soda ash, alum, lime and the like which are employed in water treating plants and other industries, the object of the invention being to provide a simple mechanism whereby a continuous automatic feed of materials will be accomplished. The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings and will be hereinafter fully described, the novel features being particularly defined in claims.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a view, partly in elevation and partly in section, of a feeder embodying the present invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged front elevation of the flow-controlling elements.

Figure 3 is a plan view.

Figure 4 is a section on the line M of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a detail elevation of the magnet.

Figure 6 is a detail section more particularly showing the outlet.

The feeder. comprises a hopper l which is supported by and within a frame 2 of angle bars or other material and may be of any preferred cross section although manufacturing costs are reduced by using a square bottom and building up the hopper with fiat plates. The hopper is preferably formed from sheet metal and tapers downwardly and is equipped around its upper end with a flange 3 upon the upper side of which is secured a plate 51 having an opening therein corresponding to the contour of the open upper end of the hopper. The side edges of t plate l are formed into vertical flanges 5 which are firmly secured to the or supporting frame 2. (War the plate d is placed a screen 5 which is preferably of wire netting and may be of any selected mesh according to the nature of the material to be placed in the hopper. Above the screen a cover 7 is hinged to the supporting frame to extend over the screen after the hopper has been filled.

The lower end of the hopper has an inclined bottom plate 8 secured thereto in any approved manner, preferably by welding, and in the front of the hopper, or that portion of its wall which is near the lower end'of the bottom plate, is provided an opening 9 to permit the egress of the material. A long bolt It] is fastened to the bottom plate 8 and extends therefrom upwardly within the hopper to a point above the outlet opening where it is firmly secured to a perforated plate l I, said plate being vibrated with the botthe appended tom plate, as will be presently fully set forth in order to avoid clogging of the material in the hopper and cause the material to flow steadily to the outlet opening. Below the agitator plate I l,

U-bolts or similar stirrers 50 are welded or other- 5 wise permanently secured to the bolt or post ill so that a very thorough agitation and loosening of the material will be effected.

Rigidly bolted or otherwise secured to the front wall of the hopper is a. plate l2 having an opening 10 It in its lower end portion of the same general shape as the outlet 9 of the hopper and alined with said outlet. A packing plate It is interposed between the plate I2 and the'wall of the hopper and servesto tween the plate and the hopper, as will be understood. Pivotally mounted upon the facing plate H2 at a point l5 above and at one side of the openings 9 and i3 is a gate it having its lower end tapered so as to cover the outlet openings but 20 permit the gate to turn pivotally within a spout ll produced by extending the bottom plate 8 beyond the front of the hopper and turning up side extensions or wings thereof, as shown, the

wings being brazed or otherwise secured to the 25 front of the hopper, as will be understood. The upper edge of the gate i6 is formed into a rack l8 concentric with the pivot I5 and this rack is engaged by a pinion l9 mounted upon the front of the hopper above the rack, as clearly shown 30 in Figure 2. This pinion is mounted upon a bolt or shaft 20 which is journaled in the facing plate l2 and the wall of the hopper and is held in' place by a nut 2i on its inner. end, as will be understood. The front equipped with a handle 22 whereby it may be easily turned, and a' keeper plate 23 is secured upon the hopper and has its lower portion recessed toextend over and accommodate the pinion and aid in maintaining the shaft 20 in proper 40 operative position.

Disposed below the bottom plate 8 and parallel therewith is a steel bar 28 which is connected with the bottom plate by bolts 25 and 26 around which are spacers 27 to maintain the desired dis- 45 tance between the bottom plate and the bar. The rear end of the bar is free, as shown in Figures 1 and 4, and immediately under the free end of the bar is a core 28 of an electro-magnet, as shown. 7 The core 28 is of laminated cured at its lower end between two brass plates 29, an extension of the core, as shown at 30, rising from the rear ends of the plates 29 to a removable blockBl which is carried by the upper end of the extension. A coil 32 is wound around 55' prevent leakage of material be- 15 end of the shaft 26 is 35 structure and is se- 50 .tionsofsaidbarwillbe so that the core 28 and is provided with a plurality of taps It so that current may be fed to the winding according to the desired voltage and the nature of the material which is being fed. when current is supplied to the winding, vibration will be set up in the magnet which will cause the steel bar armature 24 to vibrate and the vibratransmitted directly to the bottom plate 8 of the hopper, flexing the same, and to the perforated plate ii within the hopper so that the material will be agitated and willbecausedtoflowin a steady streamto and through the outlet opening. I

By turning the shaft 2. and the pinion I! mounted thereon, the gate It will be rocked about its pivot so that the lower end of the gate will uncover more or less of the area of the outlet openings. Toset the gate with accuracy, a scale plate 3| is secured upon the front of the hopper in any desired manner concentric with the pivot and the rack I8, and a pointer 35 is carried by the gate to play over this scale, the calibrations of the scale indicating the size of the opening to be allowed for materials of diiferent grades. 1

A bolt ii is secured in the armature It and the bottom I with its head 52' shaped to fit within and vibrate in the lower endof the opening i3 fine material will not clog in the opening. A spacer 52 is fitted around said bolt I, as shown.

A copper strip 53 is secured on the under side of the bottom by the bolts 25, 26 and SI and its rear end is turned down and secured between the core 28 and the block II. This strip will carry of! the heat caused by eddies in the magnet and will distribute such heat over the bottom I so that moisture in the material will be driven ofi.

The material to be fed is placed in the hopper through the screen 8 so that large particles will be removed and the material passing into the hopper will, of necessity, be in a pulverized or powdered form of a predetermined fineness. After the hopper is filled, the gate is adjustedand current supplied to the windin of the ma net whereupon the desired vibration will be set up and the material be caused to flow from the hopper in the desired volume.

The magnet is held upon the hopper by a strap 38 havlng'its ends secured to the sides of the hopper by welding or otherwise and the lower portion passing below and spanning the magnet and secured to the brass plates 2! by cap screws or other similar fastenings.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

l. A ieeder comprising a hopper having an inclined bottom plate and an outlet adjacent the .of the armature and strip secured upon the bracket portion engaging .plate and its other end portion engaging the core lower end of said plate, an armature disposed below and firmly connected with the bottom plate of the hopperand extending diametrically of the bottom from below the lower end thereof to below the upper end thereof and having its upper end portion free, a support hopper adjacent the upper end of the bottom plate, and an electro-magnet carried by said support and arranged below and adjacent the free end of the armature to impart vibration thereto and to the bottom plate.

2. A feeder comprising -a hopper having an inclined bottom plate and an outlet opening in its walls adjacent the lower end of said plate, an agitator disposedwithin the hopper and above the bottom plate and connected with the bottom plate to vibrate therewith, means for vibrating the bottom plate; and an agitating element in the lower end of the outlet bottom plate.

3. A feeder comprising a hopper having an inclined bottom plate and having an outlet opening in its side adjacent the lower end of said bottom plate, a spout on the lower end of said plate at the outlet of said hopper, a gate pivotally mounted upon the hopper above and stone side of the outlet opening and having a tapered lower portion disposed within the spout and over said opening, a rack formed on an upper side edge portion of the gate concentric with the thereof, a pinion mounted on the hopper-and depending from said vibrating with the pivot 30 meshing with the rack and rotatable whereby the gate may be set to vary the effective area of the outlet opening, an arcuate gage strip carried by said hopper concentric pointer extending from one end of the rack and with the rack, and a $5 overlying the gage strip and moving along the same as the gate ismoved.

4. A feeder comprising a hopper, an inclined bottom plate for the hopper, an armature disposed below and connected with the bottom plate and having one end free, a bracket depending from the hopper, an electro-magnet supported by the bracket under the, hopper and having a core disposed under and adjacent the free end provided with a plurality of taps, and a heatin with one end the upper portion of the bottom of the electro-magnet.

5. A feeder comprising a hopper having an inclined bottom and an outlet in its side at the bottom, means to vibrate the bottom, and a proiection on the bottom vibratingin the lower end of the outlet.

LUTHER VANCE PICKELL a winding around the core 

